Honor, guide me
by Braxin
Summary: The brief tale of how Shran gained promotion, and came to captain the Kumari.


"Don't do this, Shran!" said Velmet, looking at Shran from his position, prone on the ground. "I beg you to listen!"

The point of Shran's spear rested lightly at the base of Velmet's throat, and it was clear that he was ready to thrust it home at the slightest sign of treachery from Velmet.

"Take stock of your words, Velmet," said Shran, disappointment clear in his voice. "Look at what you've become! A coward, begging for your life. You used to be an Imperial Guard!"

The contempt in Shran's voice cut Velmet deeply, for though Velmet was not personally acquainted with Shran, the elder Guard was one of Velmet's heroes for his valiant conduct in combat against both, Vulcans and Orions.

"I AM an Imperial Guard!" said Velmet firmly: that Shran denied that fact angered Velmet.

"No longer," said Shran. "The Emperor has cast you out."

"No!" said Velmet, and Shran actually felt bad at the young man's apparent distress, understanding it wholly.

One did not accidentally stumble into becoming an Imperial Guard. It required an extended commitment beginning with a five year enlistment in a lessor front line combat unit, after which a potential guard would be required to volunteer for the Guards and then pass a brutal three year training and vetting process before one would be inducted into the Imperial Guards. The attrition rate for the prospective Guards during those three years hovered around 80%, and thus only about 20% of each Guards class would eventually claim the honor of being one of the Emperor's hands, tasked with carrying out his will.

"It's true," said Shran. "Your warning did not sway the Emperor. I wager that deep down he believes your words about his cousin, as Avello is as treacherous as a Vulcan, but you know the sway Milleja holds over him. Others have warned his Highness of that woman, but he will not listen."

"I have proof now, Lt-Commander," said Velmet. "I continued searching for proof of their treachery and I have found it. That is why Milleja claimed that I tried to force myself on her. You must take me to the Emperor!"

"I can not," said Shran. "He has ordered that the first Guard which apprehends you, should take your head, Velmet."

"Oh," said Velmet, fully accepting of his fate at Shran's hands: it was unthinkable that a Guard should question his master, and Velmet would have thought less of Shran if he'd been willing to do so. "I am grateful for that mercy. All I ever wanted to be was an Imperial Guard, Shran, and I thank his Highness for at least giving me the honor of a clean death at the hands of a Guard."

Shran had studied Velmet closely, and it was apparent that cowardice was not the motivating factor for Velmet's recent pleas for mercy: he truly believed that he was acting on his duty as an Imperial Guard, and merely wished to serve and protect the Emperor.

"It seems that I have misjudged you, Velmet," said Shran. "I regret that it must end like this for you."

"It's nothing," said Velmet, then held up his left hand, displaying a broad steel ring on his pinky. "This data ring is yours, Shran. The proof you'll need is there. I know you'll do what has to be done."

"Rest assured, Velmet," said Shran. "If your proof is compelling, I will do my duty, and you will be vindicated!"

Velmet nodded in gratitude for Shran's promise, and with that, Shran pressed the spear home.

* * *

Four hours after taking Velmet's life, Shran left the Emperor's side, carrying with him the box which held Velmet's head, as proof of Shran's loyalty in service to the Emperor… and yet this time, he'd taken no pride in fulfilling his duty. Shran was too hard, too seasoned by war to feel pity for Velmet, and Velmet himself would have held himself insulted to be a recipient of pity, for death in the line of duty was a proper death for an Imperial Guard… but Shran knew that Velmet's evidence must be investigated, and if the proof was true, the traitors need be punished and Velmet vindicated.

Half an hour later, Shran delivered the box with Velmet's head to the Imperial morgue, where Velmet's body already resided, and Shran ordered that Velmet's body be properly cremated and his ashes respectfully stored, until Shran should come to claim them.

The mortician had the nerve to ask Shran questions and offer forms to be filled out, and Shran sneered at the man: he was surely new at this post. An Imperial Guard spoke with the Emperor's voice, unless he was overridden by a superior officer, or an Andorian noble. Annoyed at the man's impudence, Shran laid hand on his Guard's dagger, and the mortician quickly came to his senses, assuring Shran that Velmet's body would be properly processed, and honorably retained until Shran should come claim what little was left of Velmet.

* * *

Later than night Shran polished off a bottle of Andorian ale while reviewing the evidence on the data ring which had once been Velmet's… and it was all true. Velmet had collected definitive proof that the Emperor's cousin was plotting to be rid of the Emperor and assume the mantle of power, and this while working in concert with the Emperor's mistress, Milleja. That could not stand. It would not stand, and so Shran came to a resolution which would likely cost him his life.

But before acting on his resolution Shran reached out to Ensign Talas, showed her that same proof which Velmet had provided him. Once Talas had reviewed that evidence of treachery against the Emperor, Shran asked favor of Talas, and then strengthened it with an order, but in truth, it was no favor and there was no need for orders for Shran merely required Talas to perform her duty to the Emperor, even at the cost of her own life. Talas never hesitated to bind herself in agreement with Shran's orders.

That task done, the time had come to act.

* * *

Though Andoria is often pictured as a frozen wasteland, that's not quite accurate. The surface of the planet is sparsely populated with a mix of both predator and prey, adapted for life on this harsh planet, while an even greater number thrive under the massive ice shelves where the Andorians themselves had long ago evolved. More to the point, Andoria is warmer at the equator, a veritable paradise which sometimes sees positively sweltering temperatures of 30 degrees Fahrenheit at times, and it was here that the greatest variety of wildlife frolicked in the sun, and it was here that the Emperor and his court had come to hunt the Haffersel fox, renowned for it's blue-gray fur, and it was here that Shran himself had come to hunt his prey, Avello, the Emperor's cousin.

Perhaps 'hunt' was too dramatic a word for what took place. Avello was a self-indulgent noble, Shran an Imperial Guard, which meant that Avello stood no more chance than a toddler when Shran approached him, immobilized him, and drove his Guard's dagger through Avello's right temple, and then his forehead. The vast majority of the Emperor's party froze in shock at that, but not the Emperor himself, for he'd been an Imperial Guard once, long before he'd taken power and ascended the throne, when his predecessor died without an heir.

A half dozen Guards stood between Shran and the Emperor then, but that was needless… as if Shran would attack his master! No, Shran had accomplished his aim, and performed his duty, and with that he allowed Avello's corpse to drop to the ground.

The Emperor passed through his Guards without a shred of fear, and stood before the murderous Guard, looking him eye to eye.

"Tell me that you have a good explanation for your actions, Shran," said the Emperor, glancing down at his cousin's body.

"Avello was a traitor," said Shran, "and he deserved his fate."

"That was for me to decide, Shran," said the Emperor, "not you."

"A Guard's duty is to protect the Emperor, even against himself," said Shran. "Velmet warned you, Highness. You didn't listen, and Velmet died in the performance of his duty, but he left proof that his words were true."

Shran held out the data ring and the Emperor pocketed the ring, all while looking at Shran directly.

"Take him away," said the Emperor, glancing at the head of his protection detail, "until I decide his fate."

"May I address the lady Milleja before I'm unceremoniously hustled away," said Shran.

The Emperor nodded and Shran looked at the Emperor's mistress.

"I have already shared the data on that ring with a number of Guards," said Shran. "You will be carefully watched. If anything happens to the Emperor, if it even looks like you're stepping out of line, you'll be killed just as brutally as Avello, and just as suddenly. You will not be shown an ounce of mercy if you continue your scheming. Be warned."

Milleja paled at that, though she said nothing in response, and Shran was led away, respectfully, for the Guards in charge of Shran suspected that the Guard's words were true, and he'd acted for the good of the Emperor.

* * *

It was three days later that Shran was dragged out of the hole in which the Emperor had tossed him, and the Andorian rightfully assumed they were taking him to his execution ground, yet instead, his keepers hustled him onto a shuttle, after which the shuttle ascended from the planet, and Shran assumed that he was on his way to see the Emperor, as there was need for all this travel if the Guards simply wished him dead.

The minutes passed, and then the shuttle approached a brand new type of battlecruiser, and it was a beauty.

"What is that?" said Shran. "A new class of combat cruiser for the Emperor's own flagship?"

"You're half right, Shran," said Elseret, a Sergeant in the Guards. "It is a new class of combat cruiser. That's the Kumari, the first of it's class, but it is not the emperor's ship. It is yours, Lt-Commander Shran. Or I should say, Commander, for with that ship comes a promotion."

"You don't say," said Shran, grinning widely now.

"But I do," said Elseret. "The Emperor reviewed the evidence you provided him, and found your proof compelling, Commander."

"And Velmet?"

"He has been officially reinstated as a Guard," said Elseret. "He has no family, but his ashes rest honorably among our fallen, and he has been vindicated, his shame expunged, on the Emperor's command."

On hearing that, Shran laughed aloud, and he kept laughing until the shuttle boarded his new ship.

It was the dawn of a new day!


End file.
